Shoe having detachable upper



Aug. 15, 1950 F. v. BRYANT EI'AL I 'SHOE HAVING DETACHABLE UPPER Filed Aug. 2, 1948 Fred V Bryant Herbert CZ'Bryanr Henry H. Harvey INVENTORSY IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVIIII'III'IJ I Patented Aug. 15, 1950 PATENT I OFFICE Fred V; Bryant, HerbertQ. Bryant, and Henry H. Harvey,- Lyflchburg, Va.

application August 2, 1948, Serial No; 41,966

1 Claim. (Cl. 36-12) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in, shoes and. the primary object of the present invention is to provide a shoe having a sole portion and a detachable upper that will permit uppers of various sizes, shapes and colors to. be interchangeable with the sole. portion.

Another important object of the. present, invention is to provide a, shoe including a sole portion, an upper, and novel and improved means for detachably securing the upper to thesole portion. and in such a manner as to permit the said shoe tobe employed by a user in a comfortable manner. a

Yet another object of the present invention is to providea shoe having a detachable upper and including a sole portion that is provided with novel and improved cushioning means that will permit the same to be comfortably worn by a user and which will absorb and reduce the normal shock prevailing during the engagement of the shoe with a hard surface, such as a walk or the like. 7

A further object of the present invention is to provide a shoe construction of the aforementioned character that is extremely neat and attractive in appearance and which includes an upper and a sole portion that are quickly and readily assembled or disassembled in a convenient manner.

A still further aim of the present invention is to provide a shoe having a detachable upper that is simple and practical in construction, small and compact in structure, strong and reliable in use, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for wh ch the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper of the present shoe construction;

portion of the present invention generally, including an outer sole ii of. any suitable material such as rubber, leather, wood or other such fibrous construction Suitably fixed to the upper face of theouter sole l2 and forming a part of the sole portion [-8, is a mid-sole M of preferably leather material that conforms to the contour or curvature of the outer sole l-2l The sole portion In valsov includes a laminated inner sole composed of an upper layer Hi, of preterablyleather material, and a resilient cush: ion-ing element or pad. :8. The upper layer it and the pad la are secured together by any suitable adhesive means such as cement, glue or the like,v and the lower face: of the pad 18 is secured by glue, cement or the like to the midsole M.

It should be noted, that the outer sole l'2, the mid-sole l4, and the inner sole l6, I8 are all similar in shape so that the exterior portions thereof are substantiallv'flush to prevent undesirable projections which would tend to effect a separation of the parts during use of the present shoe.

To further secure the mid-sole l4 and the inner sole l6, l8 to the outer sole l2, there is provided auxiliary anchoring means 20 that assume the form of nails, as illustrated. However, other such means may be employed to function in the desired capacity, such as screws or dowel pins.

Spaced parallel to the side edges of the laminated inner sole l6, I8, is a pair of substantially channel shaped grooves, recesses or slots 22 that are provided in the pad l8 and which communicate with a pair of slots 24 that are provided in the outer layer [6 of the laminated inner sole.

The edges adjacent to and defining the slots 24 overlie the slots 22 to provide retaining strips or edges 26 for a purpose which will later be more fully apparent.

The numeral 28 represents the upper of the present invention generally, which assumes the form of a heel, strap type, as illustrated in Figure 1. This upper 28 may be of any suitable pliable and flexible material, such as leather, canvas, cloth, or plastic which may be easily cleaned and replaced without effecting an appreciable cost, and is also suitably colored or decorated to the desired pattern of a user.

The upper 28 includes a pair of longitudinal edges 30 which are suitably anchored by cement, glue or the like in longitudinal recesses 32 provided in elongated, resilient follower strips 34.

The forward or toe portion of the sole portion 3 I0 is cut-off as at 36 to provide entrance openings for the slots 22 and 24.

In practical use of the present invention, the follower strips 34 are slipped into the slots 22 through the entrance openings in the forward 5 ends thereof, the edges 26 overlie the upper faces of the strips 34 to retain the same within the slots 22, and th exposed portions of theupper 28, immediately adjacent the strips 34, are'received in the slots 24, as shown best in Figure 3 of the drawings.

The upper is shown constructed in a preferred embodiment with an adjustable heel strap or a buckle type heel strap 38, and a toe opening 40. Further, the edges of the upper 28 are folded inwardly upon themselves and secured to themselves by stitches or the like. However, it should be noted that any suitable upper could be employed without the necessity of having to provide a toe opening although it is necessary that a heel strap be provided insofaras the slots pro-" vided in the sole portion terminate adjacent the heel portion of the sole portion IO.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the construction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly' deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention 'as herein described and the scope of the appended claim.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A shoe comprising a sole portion and a detachable upper carried by the sole portion, said sole portion including an outer sole, a mid-sole secured to the outer sole and a laminated inner sole secured to the mid-sole, said laminated inner sole being composed of Y a cushioning alement and an outer layer overlying and secured to said cushioning element, said cushioning element having a pair of slots therein and said outer layer also having a pair of slots therein communicating with the slots in said cushioning element, said upper including a pair of longitudinal edges, and a resilient strips fixed to the longitudinal edges of REFERENCES CITED The following'references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED v STATES PATENTS Number 'Name Date 1,497,852 Hooper June '17, 1924 2,124,621 Klaubauf July 26, 1938 2,368,314 Marx Jan. 30, 1945 2,407,556 'Kleven Sept. 10, 1946 

